The Time in Between

María Dueñas built a story of espionage, fashion and survival with solid narrative architecture and a pace that never drops. The protagonist sews and weaves intelligence networks with equal skill, and the setting — international Tangier in the 1930s — is as fascinating as the characters. The ending perhaps resolves itself too neatly, but the journey getting there is so enjoyable it's hard to hold that against it. One of the great Spanish historical novels of the last twenty years.